With AC Transit's restoration of Line 19 in the Northern Waterfront area and the modified Line 96 (formerly Line 31) in West Alameda, the Estuary Crossing Shuttle will end services on Friday, June 30. The City launched the Shuttle service six years ago to close the gap for Peralta Community College students attending both the College of Alameda and Laney College, as well to provide another option for people with bicycles to travel between west Alameda and Oakland.

These two new AC Transit bus lines now provide more frequent service, for more hours of the day, from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. including weekends, than the Estuary Crossing Shuttle which only provides a weekday commute-hour service. Given that these bus lines serve similar destinations as the Shuttle, the grant funding which has sustained the Shuttle service would be very difficult to obtain going forward.

Current shuttle riders are encouraged to use 511.org to find a new transportation option. AC Transit's Line 96 connects Lake Merritt BART/Laney College, downtown Oakland, Alameda Landing, Marina Village, and the College of Alameda, terminating in Alameda Point. Line 19 connects downtown Oakland with Atlantic Avenue and Buena Vista Avenue and then travels to Fruitvale BART. AC Transit Lines 51A, 20, O and W also provide connections through the Posey and Webster Tubes.

People traveling with bicycles can hop on one of these six AC Transit lines, which run every three to nine minutes during peak times through the tubes. All AC Transit buses have front bicycle-racks which hold two or three bicycles.

In its six years of service traveling between west Alameda and Laney College/Lake Merritt BART, the Estuary Crossing Shuttle provided over 315,000 free rides, averaging 215 daily rider boardings, plus 33 daily bicycle boardings. The City is grateful to the transportation provider -transMETRO - and for all the grant funds received over the years. This service was made possible thanks to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District's Transportation Fund for Clean Air Regional Fund, Alameda County Transportation Commission's Vehicle Registration Fee for Transit, Metropolitan Transportation Commission's New Freedom Program, the City of Alameda's Transportation Systems Management/Transportation Demand Management Fund to which Wind River contributes, and the Alameda County transportation sales tax - Measures B and BB.

The City is actively working to develop improved options for people wanting to travel by bicycle between the west end of Alameda and Oakland. In the near- and mid-term, the City is engaging with AC Transit to explore several options, including allowing people to bring their bicycles inside the bus (immediately before the tubes) if the bicycle racks are full, encouraging AC Transit to move quickly to install three-bike racks on all buses serving Alameda, and allowing people with bicycles to ride for free through the tubes on the short trip between Alameda and Oakland. In the longer-term, the City is evaluating options for a water shuttle, a bicycle-pedestrian bridge, and improved tube crossings.